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Impwood Says:

Technically the Medieval era, but since it spans over a millennium and one naming style is completely impossible to pin down over that time, I would probably say the late Victorian and Edwardian era. The stately classics were still standing strong, but at the same time there was a new opening to the mysterious in names, with interest in the Celtic languages particularly. The result was the beautiful mixture that is Winifred, Gwladys, Mary and Arthur.

Myosotis Says:

I kind of think my naming preferences somewhat follow the historical eras I find interesting. Pretty much anything pre-1950s I quite like. More modern stuff, I need much more persuasion. Right now on my shortlist, I have Ancients (Pandora, Artemis, Lysander, Ptolemy), Medieval (Guinevere, Morgana, Adelise), Puritan (Prosper), Victorian (Adelaide, Arabella), Nicknames, which are still popular in the U.K. today (Archie, Albie, Kitty, Elsie), WWI era (Beatrix, Lavender, Sybil, Marigold, both of which I started to love after watching Downton), and mid century (Sally, Marilyn, Jane).

At the moment, the Ancients are probably winning out as firsts. But the WWI, Victorian, and Georgian even are in the next set of loves.

Eu Says:

What lmpwood said. I think my love of Victorian/Edwardian/Medieval names is also very tied to my loving those literary traditions. There’s nothing like a book to make you enjoy a name you never would have considered.

cactusgram Says:

ARead Says:

I adore all things medieval, and the names are no exception! I tend to prefer English medieval names but there are plenty of German, Italian, Scandinavian, and French names I love from this period, too! When I think of medieval names, I tend to mean those than came into general use during those (roughly 1000) years. Names from earlier periods that were in wide use then I don’t tend to consider strictly “medieval”, like Mary or John. I’d say those are really more Classical or Biblical.

It’s actually a requirement I have for my kids’ names: if I can’t trace them back to medieval times, I don’t use them!

Kate4hisglory Says:

paulapuddephatt Says:

I love names from pretty much every historical period, but considerably fewer “modern” names. I adore names that were popular from 1960s through to the 1990s. Because I write modern historical fiction, these names, along with classic ones, are very important to me, and I feel drawn to them.

Mhill46 Says:

WynneC Says:

Does anyone have a link to a website or blog or wikipedia page that provide informations about all the name era throughout history? I’ve searched about them on google before but can’t seem to find any articles that talks about them.

Araminty Says:

I love some names from the 1930’s and 40’s that are mostly right out of fashion now: Gillian, Marion, Judith, Jeanette, Jacqueline, Kathleen, Peggy. Audrey and Penelope are also from that era and obviously popular again. That was a relatively quick turn around period for them.

leespieces Says:

iwillpraise Says:

I would have always said Victorian (which include many Greek/Roman names), but I love coupling the frills and stately names of that era with midCentury. It creates a name layered with history and is quite possibly like a vintage scrapbook page for the soul 😉

snowyowlgal Says:

For girls, I recently have been loving 1920s sounding names such as Hazel, Beatrice, Zelda, Stella, Violet, Coco… The list goes on! Although I always have a soft spot in my heart for Arthurian names like Avalon, Gwendolyn, Blanche, Grainne, Faye, Morgana and Isolde. Also Irish and Welsh legend names like Niamh, Aine, Deirdre, Dearbhail, Aoife, Aisling and Bridgid. For boys, no time period really captures me. I just prefer the simple English sounding names like Daniel, William, Jude, James and Jack.